Common Game Background

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Argennian
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 4885
Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2010 7:12 am
Location: Bay Area, NorCal

Common Game Background

#1 Post by Argennian »

Common Game Background


A Time to Depart

It is late in the unusually hot summer. The failed assassination attempted on the king has only served to galvanize and intensify the witch-hunt for any and all members, friends or supporters of the Hands of Balance. People are being gathered up day and night and imprisoned within Karagonia’s inner keep at an alarming pace. Stories of innocent folk being taken into custody, never to be heard from again, fill every home, tent and campfire from the Elven Lands to the Totallan Mountains and out to the coast. Even the church and various temples appear powerless to intervene and beg restraint upon the people’s behalf. Soldiers have been seen in the surrounding area and, according to scuttlebutt, are looking for certain “special case individuals”. All major roads in the area have been staked out and patrols are ever increasing. The western seaports and major trade routes to the south have been taken over by military units loyal to the king and the continuation of the “witch-hunt”. With your family’s either real or supposed connections to the Hands of Balance, you know that it is only a matter of time until you make the list, if not already on it now. It would appear that the time to move on and away from the area, if possible, has already arrived.

Travel north or east into the Elven Lands, even for elves, is neither safe nor advisable. The dwarves have shut tight any passage into their impenetrable mountain kingdom. The halfling and gnome homelands were utterly destroyed by the enemy during the Great War and most have migrated south and some say even west. Further north or east past the Elven Lands to either the Ancient Forests or homelands of the enemy is sure suicide. Travel to the south between the coast and the Totallan Mountain Range is almost guaranteed to ensure encounter with the many soldiers that guard and patrol the many roads that zigzag the land in that region. The only hope comes from the whispered rumors spoke of like a dream. A lush, bountiful and mostly-untamed frontier land to the west, beyond the Sea of Ghosts, untouched by the taint of war, disease and oppression. It seems almost too good to be true. A real opportunity to not only escape the growing wickedness and despair but be able to make a new and better life again. It appears to be the only way out, unless one wanted to learn firsthand what’s become of all the people already taken away and never seen again…

User avatar
Argennian
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 4885
Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2010 7:12 am
Location: Bay Area, NorCal

Common Character Background / Pre-Action Sequence

#2 Post by Argennian »

Common Character Background


A note arrives


~ A trusted friend, neighbor or associate has given you a small parchment with instructions, a small crude map and a special symbol* They say that it’s from the venerable old half-elf Socratis, a well-respected local elder and war hero of the infamous Hatmarin Division, with supposed ties to the former Hands of Balance. Come to think of it, rumor had it he’d been through the area recently. According to reports from folks that just attended a private meeting with him, a transportation route over the Sea of Ghosts via trade ship to the growing frontier port town of Newshore in the west has already been established. The next ship will be traveling on the morrow and anyone that has received the special parchment* can gain passage. You need only meet at a certain coastal valley, past the bluffs to the north of the closest seaport, and just before midnight tonight. Once there, you are to seek out a human merchant seaman who goes by the name of "Gentleman Billy" hiding there, and use the special code phrase, ”One hand balances the other, friend” to be allowed to parley with him. The small parchment will assure your passage upon the next ship. There will be other passengers and refugees there as well, waiting to escape the jackboot of Karagonia’s malevolent ambitions, or so the small parchment states.





Pre-Action Backstory* Sequence


... The day is getting late and you cannot help but feel restless, head a swirl with questions and anticipations. Why was this opportunity afforded me? What does this Socratis want, or know of me and my family? Will I ever get out of this place? Whether it’s curiosity, despair, hope or lack of anything better than the prisons or sewers of Karagonia, you quickly decide to be ready at dusk. As the light from the great sun grows darker over the western-facing peaks of the Grand Ranges of the Totallan Mountains, you strike out toward the valley indicated on the small parchment. You make it into the wilds and away, leaving the roads, villages and hamlets behind without apparent notice or incident. Darkness falls as you make your way unmolested toward the valley. The largest moon, almost full, begins to rise as you travel, negating the need for torch or lantern, and bathes the surrounding wilderness in an eerie, dim blue light. The fog approaches on a cool yet light breeze, growing with intent from the west over the Sea of Ghosts in the distance, just as it does every night this time of year. There is still no sign of anyone following or around you. You anticipate your arrival to be within an hour of midnight…

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